


A Path to Freedoms Light

by orei_lee



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abusive Households, Child!AU, Family Feels, Fluff, No Romance, Other, Runaway kids, THERE'S GONNA BE SO MUCH FLUFF, Virgil is baby, but also angst, but not for long, creativity twins, everyone protects virgil, i lied about mostly angst, mostly angst, non-sides au, patton is the oldest, runaways - Freeform, they're all kids, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:53:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24563410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orei_lee/pseuds/orei_lee
Summary: Five broken homes. Five broken families. Six broken kids. One final chance.When children from all over the town finally have enough of their troubled life, they decide to run away, coincidentally at the same time. Fate brings them all together, and the group of youths must figure out how to survive in the real world together while they run far away from their past.This is a story of family, of freedom, and of growth. A loving bond between new siblings, protecting each other from the harsh world they were unfortunately put into.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Everyone, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Everyone, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Everyone, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Everyone, Logic | Logan Sanders & Everyone, Morality | Patton Sanders & Everyone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	A Path to Freedoms Light

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my Sanders Sides au! I've been binging the series as an entirety because of quarantine, and inspiration struck at the best of times lol  
> The first five chapters are going to be following each sides family/reasoning for running away! It'll go in order of oldest to youngest- Patton, Logan, Janus, Roman & Remus, and Virgil! Chapter six will be when the group comes all together, so stay tuned guys gals and non-binary pals!

It all began two days earlier.

Well, it’s been a thought in his mind for a while, but only on this warm Friday afternoon did Patton really start to plan his escape.

He’d been staying after school, wanting to stay as far away from “home” as possible. It couldn’t even be called a home- not to him, at least. The orphanage wasn’t exactly the best spot in town. Most kids there who didn’t find foster families were either put to work day and night or hide from the ladies who took care of them. The headmistress was the worst of them all, and yet Patton could never find a voice to stand up to her. He was afraid. Most of the kids were- but he was thirteen! He was one of the oldest there, he should be protecting the others, not hiding inside a classroom to “study”. 

The fear of the headmistress was too much. She was a harsh woman named Bethany Meyers, though none of the kids were allowed to use her given names. She was incredibly short tempered, and often lashed out at the children there. While she lived in luxury and gifts, the kids were given old and ragged clothes. The funds for the orphanage were low, they could barely afford the water bill most of the time! Yet the headmistress spends all the expenses on luxury items or alcohol. Yeah, he found the bottles. Had the younger ones found them, who knows what danger they could have been in. Patton, while he disliked such strong words, hated the woman.

Patton was a coward. He told himself this every day. No matter how much he wanted to escape, he was too afraid of being caught- of going back. 

Now, he wasn’t always an orphan. But according to the headmistress, on a winter’s night a couple stopped by with their three year old son wrapped in layers of warm clothes. They dropped him off at the door and left, never to be seen again. 

He wondered why his parents left him. What did he do wrong?

Was he just not good enough?

Patton, truthfully, prided himself on being the best kid he could be. Any work given he’d complete without complaint, he’d help take care of the younger kids, he’d share his rations of food no matter how hungry he was. He did these good deeds simply out of the kindness of his own heart. 

But that was never enough. He had no real friends at school- of course he’d notice, they only ever talked to him when they wanted something, not to mention they were horrible at whispering- and no adults ever seemed to want him. He was getting older. No parent wants to start off with a teenager. Patton was just waiting for the day he turned eighteen and got kicked out of the orphanage. 

Though, maybe he didn’t have to wait. The thought came to him as he stared mindlessly at his homework, the silence of the classroom still deafening. He’d been doodling on the sides, first starting with small cat heads, slowly developing into all sorts of things. But his hand froze when he realized just what he’d been drawing at the time. 

A train. 

The thought was silly. Trains were too expensive, and Patton was far from capable of scraping together enough money for a train ticket. Where would he even go? What about food, or clothes or a home? 

Not to mention he’d be incredibly lonely- well, more so than now. But...was staying really worth it? 

Patton found himself thinking about this for a long time. Even as he left the classroom, waving goodbye to his classmate who’d also stayed after to study. Even as he walked down the streets of the gloomy town. Even as he entered the building he slept under, skipping dinner in hopes of his meal being given to one of the younger kids- even as he laid silently in his dusty bed, the thought lingered. Would he truly be happy if he just stayed and endured this loneliness?

Only in the middle of the night, as Patton laid restless above the covers in the heat-filled, did he come to a conclusion. 

Patton wanted to run away. He was going to run away.

\-----

Preparations first. He couldn’t just up and leave, that’d be too reckless in this- well, reckless idea. 

The next day was spent making sure Patton was ready. He emptied his school backpack carefully, not caring to bring any homework along. Who needs boring ol’ learning when you’re out travelling? He just had to think of this like an adventure, a trip. A vacation, even!

The morning had been just like any other. The young teen helped the children get dressed and eat breakfast, then sent them off to play while he and the more capable kids got to cleaning. It was routine, at this point.

It was around noon by the time he had a moment to spare. Patton hid inside his room, stuffing his now empty bag with the clothes he owned. Well, they were more so hand-me downs from kids in the past, but they were his nonetheless. He didn’t pack his stuffed animals, instead going around the room to hand them out to the youngins. They needed it more than him- and he was too old for toys, right? Patton was only going to bring the essentials. 

That didn’t include food or water. He didn’t dare steal from the orphanage. The kids needed it more than him, even if he took just one snack, he could be robbing someone else of a meal. 

He added a few old diaries as well, full of his memories. Truthfully, Patton spent a long portion of his time writing down events of the day in these old journals, mostly the good. If he had a bad day, he’d write down on a new page every small detail that made him happy. If he ever looked back and read through the pages, he’d be reminded of the positivity he could find in a dark situation. With a smile, he buried the books underneath his clothes. That was it, huh? He didn’t have much else to bring.

Patton would need to find another way to survive now. But first, he had to find a train, and hop on. Just like the movies!

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. He figured it’d be best to leave at night, wanting to spend as much time as he could with the younger kids. After hours went by and dinner settled in the stomachs of the many, Patton sat on the dusty wood floors with two toddlers by his legs. Toys crashed into one another. Patton was left a giggling mess as his legs were clung onto. With as much strength as he could, he lifted the two in the air, watching as they squealed and cried in glee. This brought a warm smile to the young boy’s face. He’d miss this. He’d miss the few moments of joy he could bring to these kids. But he knew that, if he could just find the right place- maybe meet the right person- he could find a way to save these kids. He could raise funds to buy the orphanage. He could adopt them all himself come his eighteenth birthday. Heck, he’d go as far as just steal them away if he could!

But Patton wanted to find a place first. Find a good home. If he worked and worked and worked, outside of this hell he grew up in, then he could come back prepared. 

If he could handle staying under the creaky roof of the orphanage, maybe he could do all of this here. 

Patton’s thoughts were interrupted as a hand reached out to him, the blonde toddler on his right leg sliding up and into his chest. He babbled on, a mimic of “Pat” bubbling from the child. The toddler's brother on his left copied in pursuit, squeals of Pattons name being called into his shirt. 

His freckled arms wrapped around their heads. He kept them close, curling around the boys with a strained sniffle escaping. He could only pray that the sudden liquid pooling in his eyes wouldn’t fall and hit their heads. Patton tried his best to wipe his face subtly, but the tears kept coming. They fell, and they fell, and they kept falling until his face was warm and sticky from such tears. 

“It’s bedtime kiddo’s. Up, up!” He sang, his voice bubbly and bright no matter how shaky his cries made him. Patton stood with the boys still in his arms, both of which kicked out their legs in glee. It didn’t take long for him to get the two into pajamas and tucked into a shared bed. The brothers were fast asleep soon enough, tuckered out so easily. Patton smiled, kissing the tops of their heads. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.” The boy whispered, making his way out of the room quietly. 

After another swift rub at his eyes, Patton made his way to his own bed, faking slumber until it was quiet throughout the entirety of the orphanage. Then, he pulled his backpack of supplies from under his bed and swung it around his shoulders. A grey cardigan was wrapped securely around his body. Patton stood carefully, tip-toeing his way across the room to leave. Before he made it to the door, he caught sight of the mirror, his reflection only visible by the moonlight from the windows. 

His face had gotten lighter, hasn’t it? His normally tanned skin was almost sickly pale, his many freckles so prominent. His almost ginger brown hair was flipped and curled around his head, framing the top of his face. Though the night made them darker, his hazel eyes were staring back through round, cracked glasses. He’d gotten thinner too, huh? Not unhealthily so, thankfully. Most of the kids were, which is why he shared his portions so often.

They’d have more food now. With him gone, there was more of a chance they could eat. 

Patton smiled tiredly at his reflection. The train station wasn’t too far away, so hopefully he could sleep on the car he hopped on. Maybe there would be hay! Or boxes, that’d be comfortable too. 

Forcing his eyes away, Patton opened the door and made his way into the halls. Quiet steps. One, two, three, four....he walked as silently as he could, opening the door as carefully as possible. The cool nights air hit him like a brick, really. Maybe a cardigan wouldn’t be enough, but it was too late now. 

Patton stepped outside. He closed the door behind him, taking in a breath of the crisp air. With a small grin on his face, he began his journey.

As long as he stayed positive, everything would be alright. Even if he was alone.

**Author's Note:**

> The story might seem a little slow at first, but it picks up by chapter 6, i promise lol. Next up is Logan!


End file.
